The Crash Reel review

The dangers of snowboarding

Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

British documentary-maker Lucy Walker ( Waste Land , Countdown To Zero ) continues her eclectic career with this moving tale of snowboarder Kevin Pearce.

A Winter Olympic hopeful, set to make the US team in 2010, Pearce fell from his board during a practice session, hit his head and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Part sports doc, part familial saga, the film focuses on the aftershock of the accident, assembling materials from a wealth of home-movie footage.

With some narrative threads suddenly dropped, it’s raw-edged and sometimes jarring. But as a reminder of how fragile life is, it’s spot-on.

Freelance writer

James Mottram is a freelance film journalist, author of books that dive deep into films like Die Hard and Tenet, and a regular guest on the Total Film podcast. You'll find his writings on 12DOVE and Total Film, and in newspapers and magazines from across the world like The Times, The Independent, The i, Metro, The National, Marie Claire, and MindFood.